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Biomedical subjects

David Ogilvie

Publications and source records attributed to David Ogilvie.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Evaluating health effects of transport interventions methodologic case study.

BACKGROUND: There is little evidence about the effects of environmental interventions on population levels of physical activity. Major transport projects may promote or discourage physical activity in the form of walking and cycling, but researching the health effects of such "natural experiments" in transport policy or infrastructure is challenging. METHODS: Case study of attempts in 2004-2005 to evaluate the effects of two major transport projects in Scotland: an urban congestion charging scheme in Edinburgh, and a new urban motorway (freeway) in Glasgow. RESULTS: These interventions are typical of many major transport projects. They are unique to their context. They cannot easily be separated from the other components of the wider policies within which they occur. When, where, and how they are implemented are political decisions over which researchers have no control. Baseline data collection required for longitudinal studies may need to be planned before the intervention is certain to take place. There is no simple way of defining a population or area exposed to the intervention or of defining control groups. Changes in quantitative measures of health-related behavior may be difficult to detect. CONCLUSIONS: Major transport projects have clear potential to influence population health, but it is difficult to define the interventions, categorize exposure, or measure outcomes in ways that are likely to be seen as credible in the field of public health intervention research. A final study design is proposed in which multiple methods and spatial levels of analysis are combined in a longitudinal quasi-experimental study.

City Planning↗
PubMed2005

Systematic reviews of health effects of social interventions: 1. Finding the evidence: how far should you go?

STUDY OBJECTIVE: There is little guidance on how to identify useful evidence about the health effects of social interventions. The aim of this study was to assess the value of different ways of finding this type of information. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of the sources of studies for one systematic review. SETTING: Case study of a systematic review of the effectiveness of interventions in promoting a population shift from using cars towards walking and cycling. MAIN RESULTS: Only four of the 69 relevant studies were found in a "first-line" health database such as Medline. About half of all relevant studies were found through the specialist Transport database. Nine relevant studies were found through purposive internet searches and seven relevant studies were found by chance. The unique contribution of experts was not to identify additional studies, but to provide more information about those already found in the literature. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the evidence needed for this review was not found in studies indexed in familiar literature databases. Applying a sensitive search strategy across multiple databases and interfaces is very labour intensive. Retrospective analysis suggests that a more efficient method might have been to search a few key resources, then to ask authors and experts directly for the most robust reports of studies identified. However, internet publications and serendipitous discoveries did make a significant contribution to the total set of relevant evidence. Undertaking a comprehensive search may provide unique evidence and insights that would not be obtained using a more focused search.

Automobile Driving↗
PubMed2005

Systematic reviews of health effects of social interventions: 2. Best available evidence: how low should you go?

STUDY OBJECTIVE: There is little guidance on how to select the best available evidence of health effects of social interventions. The aim of this paper was to assess the implications of setting particular inclusion criteria for evidence synthesis. DESIGN: Analysis of all relevant studies for one systematic review, followed by sensitivity analysis of the effects of selecting studies based on a two dimensional hierarchy of study design and study population. SETTING: Case study of a systematic review of the effectiveness of interventions in promoting a population shift from using cars towards walking and cycling. MAIN RESULTS: The distribution of available evidence was skewed. Population level interventions were less likely than individual level interventions to have been studied using the most rigorous study designs; nearly all of the population level evidence would have been missed if only randomised controlled trials had been included. Examining the studies that were excluded did not change the overall conclusions about effectiveness, but did identify additional categories of intervention such as health walks and parking charges that merit further research, and provided evidence to challenge assumptions about the actual effects of progressive urban transport policies. CONCLUSIONS: Unthinking adherence to a hierarchy of study design as a means of selecting studies may reduce the value of evidence synthesis and reinforce an "inverse evidence law" whereby the least is known about the effects of interventions most likely to influence whole populations. Producing generalisable estimates of effect sizes is only one possible objective of evidence synthesis. Mapping the available evidence and uncertainty about effects may also be important.

Automobile Driving↗
PubMed2004

Promoting walking and cycling as an alternative to using cars: systematic review.

OBJECTIVES: To assess what interventions are effective in promoting a population shift from using cars towards walking and cycling and to assess the health effects of such interventions. DATA SOURCES: Published and unpublished reports in any language identified from electronic databases, bibliographies, websites, and reference lists. REVIEW METHODS: Systematic search and appraisal to identify experimental or observational studies with a prospective or controlled retrospective design that evaluated any intervention applied to an urban population or area by measuring outcomes in members of the local population. RESULTS: 22 studies met the inclusion criteria. We found some evidence that targeted behaviour change programmes can change the behaviour of motivated subgroups, resulting (in the largest study) in a shift of around 5% of all trips at a population level. Single studies of commuter subsidies and a new railway station also showed positive effects. The balance of best available evidence about publicity campaigns, engineering measures, and other interventions suggests that they have not been effective. Participants in trials of active commuting experienced short term improvements in certain measures of health and fitness, but we found no good evidence on effects on health of any effective intervention at population level. CONCLUSIONS: The best available evidence of effectiveness in promoting a modal shift is for targeted behaviour change programmes, but the social distribution of their effects is unclear and some other types of intervention have yet to be rigorously evaluated.

Automobile Driving↗
PubMed2003

New roads and human health: a systematic review.

We sought to synthesize evidence of the health effects of construction of new roads by systematically reviewing observational studies of such effects. We included and critically appraised 32 studies. The review suggested that out-of-town bypasses decrease injuries on main roads through or around towns, although more robust evidence is needed on effects on secondary roads. New major urban roads have statistically insignificant effects on injury incidence. New major roads between towns decrease injuries. Out-of-town bypasses reduce disturbance and community severance in towns but increase them elsewhere. Major urban roads increase disturbance and severance. More robust research is needed in this area, particularly regarding effects of new roads on respiratory health, mental health, access to health services, and physical activity.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Investigation of the presence of amino and nitro polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in a Söderberg primary aluminum smelter.

An excessive risk of bladder cancer among Söderberg primary aluminum smelter potroom workers has been reported by several authors, and to date, a causal agent has not been identified. Certain nitro and amino polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are either known or suspected human bladder carcinogens, and their presence in this work environment would be cause for concern. In fact, one of these, 2-aminonaphthalene, has been found in both the air and the coal tar pitch used to fabricate process electrodes following an investigation in a Söderberg plant. During the present study, monitoring was conducted in a primary Söderberg aluminum smelter over a 3-week period using novel methods having very good specificity, reproducibility, and sensitivity. Results indicated that 1-aminonaphthalene and 2-aminonaphthalene and 1-nitronaphthalene and 2-nitronaphthalene were present at low parts-per-million levels in the coal tar pitch used to prepare the process electrodes. 1-aminonaphthalene and 2-aminonaphthalene were measured 40 cm above the electrolytic cells on days 1 and 2 of the investigation when the cells' ventilation systems had been shut down for repairs and maintenance. 2-aminonaphthalene was measured at concentrations ranging from 0.080 to 0.350 microg/m3. 1-nitronaphthalene and 2-nitronaphthalene, predominant in coal tar pitch, were not detected in any of the 43 air samples collected. A plausible explanation is their reduction to their respective amine during the electrolytic process. The routine screening of coal tar pitch used to prepare the process's electrode for both amino and nitro PAHs should be adopted by the aluminum industry as an effective means of controlling the presence of these carcinogenic pollutants in their workplace.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗